BikeRide

This past Saturday I completed my second D2R2. I got up early and drove up to Deerfield, Masachusetts with Rob from my cycling club for the 9:00 am start of the 100K ride. I wasn’t quite ready to do the 112 mile route. Earlier in the season I may have attempted it, but the past month my time on the bike has suffered due to long hours at work, and family visiting from out of town. The start of this year’s ride was near Historic Deerfield in some farm fields. We parked and walked over to the registration tent to sign in and get our brevet cards. The organizers had a nice spread of food for breakfast, which I’m sure the people that camped over night appreciated. I got a cup of coffee and a muffin.

A large group started out together at 9:00 at a moderate pace. Rob and I moved up a little in the group. I remember the previous year’s first hill was a little crazy, and this year was the same. A lot of riders were in the wrong gear or couldn’t keep moving on the first steep gravel climb. When one person lost momentum and got off to walk, it caused a big chain reaction. I was just caught in the mayhem, and had to get off my bike and run for a bit before I could remount on a less steep section. Rob and I got separated for a bit, but he caught up to me before too long and we stayed together the rest of the ride. The weather was perfect this year, and I felt a lot better than last year, but this is still a very difficult ride. We made and effort this year to make quick stops at the check points to keep the legs moving.

Making it to the midway stop. Photo by PyZahl.net. See his ride album At the midway point next to a covered bridge in Vermont was the main lunch stop. It was a perfect location next to the Green River in the shade. I saw a lot of riders in Rapha cycling gear at the check point and figured out that this was the Rapha Continental team cataloging the D2R2 as one of their epic rides on the East Coast. I look forward to seeing their ride report and photos. Their report from a ride in Litchfield included many of the roads I have the privilege on riding on frequently from where I live in Northwest Connecticut.

After the lunch stop the 100K route follows the Green River on a mostly flat section for about 10 miles before the climbing resumes. We were to take a tight left turn from the river road. I just missed the turn and had to turn around. While I was pulling a U-turn my front tire sunk into the soft sand at the side of the road and I immediatly went down hard on my left shoulder. That hurt, but I there was no serious damage, so I got up and brushed myself off and continued on. I also got some sand in my front shifter, so for awhile shifting to the big ring was a problem. The last few hills were tough, especially the stair step climb to the last checkpoint at the orchard, but it was rewarded with some of the best ripe peaches I have ever had. The last dirt section includes a very steep rocky descent that tested my bike handling skills. Chris from my bike club came flying past me on the downhill. He was riding the 112 mile ride on a suspended mountain bike.

We made in back to the finish in about 5:10 ride time and 5:39 total time. That is probably the hardest 100K you can do. For tires I was running 32c Specialized Tires at about 95 psi. Next time I would run lower pressure. Maybe 75 or 80. I felt like I was bouncing a lot on rocky sections. The food at the finish was not quite up to the Burritos of the previous year, but I didn’t care too much. We didn’t stick around too long and before long we were on the road back to Connecticut.

Flickr Photo Album from the ride

I recently mapped out a cycling route that linked many dirt roads near where I live in northwest Connecticut and the southern Berkshires of Massachusetts. I called this loop the BDF2R (Berkshire Foothills Dirt Road Ride). I recently attempted the route with some of my cycling club friends. On May 24th we met in Pleasant Valley, Connecticut at the elementary school parking lot. On the way to the ride, Stuart and Laura witnessed the aftermath of a hit and run cycling accident which is not what you want to hear about before heading out on a holiday weekend ride. The 18-year-old driver was drunk when he hit two cyclists at about 7:20 in the morning. I hope the cyclists will be o.k. It certainly makes you think twice when an accident like this happens of roads you frequently ride on.

As we were getting ready to start the ride, Scott noticed he had a cut in his tire. he patched it up with some duct tape, and we were soon on our way. We started out on East River Road along the Farmington River, then took a right on Greenwoods Road into the People’s State Forest. This one lane road isn’t dirt, but it is broken pavement in a few places with some gravel, and is a challenging climb to start the ride with. I noticed a lot of people camping in the State Forest for Memorial Day.

Greenwoods Road through the Peoples State Forest

After Greenwoods Road we connected to Route 20, then turned left on Mill Street, left on Hogback, and downhill to cross the Hogback Dam until we got back to Route 8. On Route 8 and Sandy Brook Road we saw a steady stream of cyclists heading the opposite direction that were participating in the Angel Ride, a two day charity ride that crosses Connecticut.

Off of Sandy Brook Road we turned onto Campbell Road which was our first dirt road section. This connected to Beech Hill, then we turned left on Simmons Pond Road. This is where it got interesting.

Simmons Pond Road had a Dead End sign that we should have taken seriously, but we continued on. At first the road was just gravel as it passed through the Algonquin State Forest, but it soon turned to big rock with a lot of water. Basically it was like riding in a stream. I found some old topo maps that showed these roads, but they are not on current maps, and even on a mountain bike they would be challenging.

It was too late to turn around so we forged ahead. Jim was riding his road bike with 23c tires pumped up to 135 psi and it was pretty amazing that he made it through this section. He took his road shoes off and hiked barefoot with his bike for a while! Before long the road got a little better, but there were a lot of steep hike-a-bike sections. We eventually connected to Roberts Road, which had a more rideable dirt surface, and that came out on New Hartford Road, which took us north. There are some other dirt roads off of New Hartford Road that I will have to explore some other time.

New Hartford Road

From New Hartford Road we turned left on Dodd Road, which was another dirt section. That road passed a couple of farms, then turned to a double track as it entered the Sandisfield State Forest. The Road is a little wet and rocky in places, but rideable.

Dodd Road

At the end of Dodd Road we took a left on Forest Road, past York Lake, and crossed Route 183 to East Hill Road.

York Lake

East Hill Road is another scenic dirt road that descends to Southfield, Mass. Rock walls line the road and there is a Lama Farm that made for a good photo opp.

After East Hill Road we arrived at the Southfield Store for a food stop. The store was renovated a few years ago and is a little more upscale to cater to the many owners of weekend and summer homes in the area. Being that this was Memorial Day weekend, it seemed like there were a few new employees in the store to gear up for the summer. They seemed a little frazzled when our group came in. The service was a little slow, but they had a some good food. Gourmet pizzas, sandwiches, baked goods, and pastries were available. There were a few tables out on the patio where we sat. I had a small Mahgarita Pizza, a scone, and a Coke.

After the food stop we turned off of Route 272 to Canaan Southfield Road and then veered off onto Keyes Hill, another dirt road that passed a farm with a great red barn. At the bottom of a steep dirt descent on Keyes Hill we crossed Canaan Southfield Road to climb Rhoades and Baily Road. If we do this route in the future I would continue straight on Rhoades and Baily, but we turned right onto Cagney Hill and dropped down another twisting descent to connect back with Canaan Southfield road. We eventually turned right onto Cross Road to Canaan Valley which is another dirt road that starts with a climb.

Cross Road to Canaan Valley Next we turned left onto Campbell Falls Road which is a dirt road that climbed up to Route 272 past the scenic falls that run under a stone bridge.

Once we were back on Route 272 heading toward Norfolk, we turned left onto Elmore Road (dirt) and that turned onto Wheeler Road and connected to a number of other country lanes until we got to the store at Colebrook.

Wheeler Road

The Colebrook store is currently closed with a for sale sign in the window. From the store we headed down Schoolhouse Road which becomes Pisgah Mountain Road. That is a fun dirt descent that connect back to Sandy Brook Road. I have seen that road many times while coming up Sandy Brook but had never ridden down it. We headed back to Pleasant Valley on our normal route Down Sandy Brook, Route 8, then past Riverton.

It was a great day of adventure discovering some new backroads. I’d like to plan this ride again with a few alterations to avoid the unrideable sections, and maybe connect a few other dirt roads that I have yet to ride.

Photo Gallery from the ride

2008 is the 4th year I have done a version of this great loop bike ride in the Berkshire Hills of Northwest Connecticut, Taconic State Park of New York, and Western Massachusetts. The ride includes many roads with the word “Mountain” of “Hill” in the name, a few dirt sections, one portage through a “pond”, and two covered bridges. This year we started the ride in Norfolk, Connecticut and 21 riders showed up for the start. Some were regulars of the Eastern Bloc Cycling Club, and there were a few new faces.

The ride started out on Mountain Road from Norfolk past the Canaan Reservoir which turns into dirt. The road was smooth dirt for the most part, and the view of the water was worth a few bumps.

After Mountain Road there was a fun descent, then the real fun began as we took Cobble Road. With the rain the day before the water on cobble road was a little higher than normal. A few of the new faces were a little surprised by the bottom bracket deep water, but this is the signature part of this ride.

After getting my shoes wet on previous year’s rides, I followed Coleman’s lead in took my shoes and socks off and carried my bike through the water.

After the water crossing the we soon arrived at Music Mountain Road. As you can imagine, Music Mountain Road is a good climb and very scenic. Music Mountain is the home of the oldest continuing summer chamber music festival in this country.

View from the top of Music Mountain

From Music Mountain we turned left on Cream Hill Road, which is another steep climb. I don’t know if it was the cooler temeratures, or if I am in better shape this season, but the climb wasn’t has hard as I remembered in the past.

Near the top Cream Hill

After Cream Hill we descended to West Cornwall and crossed the covered bridge. Our first of two covered bridges on the ride.

Past the covered bridge we crossed Route 7 and headed up a steep climb on the road to Sharon, Connecticut.

On the downhill into Sharon I avoided a few dogs that chased me down the street, and made it to our first stop at a convenience store where we filled water bottles and a few people got a slice of pizza.

Scott fueling up on a slice of pepperoni

The stop was a little long and someone complained that we should wait at least 40 miles for the next stop, but hey, stopping for food is half the fun. Just after we got going again we took Lovers Lane, which is a little shortcut to route 361 on a downhill dirt road. There may have been one too many potholes because soon after we got back onto the paved road I noticed I had a flat back tire. So again the group stopped as I changed the flat. On my first attempt, my spare tube had a hole in it, so it was about the slowest tire change possible, but with a little help getting the tire pumped up to 115 psi, we got back on the road and headed north into New York.

A few people were hammering on the front of the group and split things up a bit. Some riders decided to cut the ride short and turned off on Route 44 in Millerton, New York. We continued North to Taconic State Park. We took a rail trail to the store just across from the park entrance. We got some water there, and I went to the bike shop near the trail to get a spare tube just in case I flatted again.

The next part of the ride headed up the climb to Bash Bish State Park into Massachusetts over Mount Washington. This climb is a 15-16% grade in places and the most challenging climb of the ride.

Proof that I was on the ride! Here I’m climbing Bash Bish. Nice Hair!

We regrouped at the top of the climb and headed down a fast descent on the Massachusetts side on Mount Washington on East Street. I started off going pretty fast down the climb but backed off a bit because there were a lot of potholes and bad pavement and I wanted to see what was coming up. Just as we got to be bottom of the hill, there were 5 or 6 riders just ahead of me, and all of the sudden Paul lost control and hit the ground at about 35 miles per hour. It was a terrible sound of metal and skin hitting the pavement. He must have slid 30 to 40 yards on his ass and shoulder down the road, across the sand and into the grass. As I rode past still trying to slow down it smelled like burning rubber.

That’s gotta hurt!

I quickly slowed down and turned around to see if he was o.k. Paul was laying in the grass and looked really bad. He was shaking like he was in shock, but after a little while he recovered a little and took inventory. Thank God he didn’t break any bones or have a head injury. He was laying on his back so at first the amount of road rash wasn’t so noticeable, but then he turned over and put his hand on his butt and said “is that my ass?” It was soon apparent that the smell of burning rubber had been Paul’s Lycra shorts disintegrating. He had the worst case of road rash I have ever seen.

Someone called 911 and a volunteer fireman showed up soon with an ambulance not far behind. The fireman had been a volunteer for many local MS rides, and said he had dealt with road rash many times before. Paul went in the ambulance to the local hospital to get his road rash cleaned up. The firemen took his bike to the firehouse. With that excitement over, we continue on minus one rider to South Egremont, Massachusetts, then south to Sheffield.

View of Mount Washington from Sheffield Egremont Road

In Sheffield we rode south briefly of Route 7 then turned to cross the Sheffield Covered Bridge. After the bridge there was a short dirt/gravel section that actually had some big rocks that were a little hard to navigate on skinny tires, but we all made it with no flat tires.

From Sheffield we took County Road that climbed gradually north, then we turned south to Mill River where we made our last water stop. The store had some home made cookies that helped fuel me for the final miles.

On the way back to Norfolk we climbed Tobey Hill Road, which is very steep, and then there was a difficult hill on Route 272 on the final miles of the ride.

Tobey Hill Road

We made it back to Norfolk and some of us had a beer and some food at the Speckled Hen Pub. I made it through the ride in better shape than previous years. I made sure to down a Hammer Gel before each of the major climbs and I think that helped keep me from bonking. I’m looking forward to some other good rides in 2008.

Full set of photos from the ride | View Slideshow

I drove up to Westfield with Randy from my club.  We met Coleman and Doug at the start at New Horizons Sports in Westfield. Due to a long line for the bathroom I missed the 7:00 am start by a few minutes.

Randy and I set a pretty fast pace for the start of the ride and we caught up to a big group about 10 miles down the road that included Doug and Coleman.  We hung with that group for a while.  Randy took off about the time we got to route 116, a long gradual climb before a turnoff to Shelburne Falls.

I was feeling pretty good, so I decided to go after him, and I set a pretty good pace up the climb.  The big pack kind of strung out there, and one guy caught me and we rode together over the top.  I could see Randy just ahead, but after the fast descent, I didn’t see him.  I made a turn toward Shelburne Falls, and backed off the pace a little.  I though Randy may have missed the turn, but he was at the Coffee Shop checkpoint when I got there 45 miles into the ride.  I ran into the bathroom and filled my water bottle and bought a big chocolate chip cookie.

When I came out of the coffee shop Randy had taken off, and Doug and Coleman were just pulling in.  I added some Cyctomax mix to my bottles that I had with me, took off my wind breaker and stuffed it into my seat pack since it was starting to warm up.

I waited and started of with Doug, Coleman, and one other rider who looked like he was an experienced Brevet rider. I figured it was better to hang back at a more moderate pace that try to chase after Randy and end up riding on my own the whole time.

The next section of the ride was the best part.  It made a loop into Vermont.  The roads was a lot better, and there were some good hills, and great views along the way. There was a great downhill section on a narrow winding road that passed a covered bridge at the bottom.

I took a couple of long pulls as we rode along a river heading back to Shelburne Falls.  The second checkpoint was at McCloskey’s General Store in Shelburne Falls.  It was a great store.  They had a deli area, and a lot of natural and organic foods.  I bought a large bottle of water and a peanut butter chocolate chip cookie.  I also bought some sunscreen because my face was starting to get red.

The ride back to Westfield had some bumpy roads with a lot of potholes to look out for, but the route was a little different than the ride out.  With about 5 miles to go I pushed the pace a little and finished alone.  I felt great for a 125 mile ride this early in the year.

I could have gone faster, but it is more fun to ride with friends and enjoy the scenery than to go hard an bonk with 25 miles to go.  My goal was to get in a good endurance ride and feel good at the end, and that is what I did.

Photos …

At 3 a.m. my alarm went off.  I had gotten my things together the night before, so I quickly got ready, packed up my things ate a bowl of cereal, and got in the car to make the 40 minute drive to Westfield.  A couple of miles down the road I realized I forgot my camera, so I turned around and went back home to pick it up, and I was soon on my way again.

I made it to Westfield in good time, and found a place to park next to the bike shop about 4:15.  Others were there in the dark parking lot getting their bikes ready.  I went into the shop to sign in, and use the facilities.

I was going to meet EBCC members Beth and Coleman, but I didn’t see them before the ride started at 5 am.  I figured that the weather forecast scared them off.  The forcast was for rain, so I took the bike with fenders, and packed my rain gear.

At 5 am we were off.  I followed a lead group of about 15 riders, just cruising along for the first 20 miles until the climb of Jacob’s Ladder on route 20.  I saw another rider in an EBCC jersey named Chris, who I didn’t know.  He said he was using the ride to train for 24 hour MTB races.

I lost contact with that group as the climb started.  I just wanted to take it at my own pace.  I didn’t see anyone else until the top of the climb when I stopped quickly to take a photo.

On the downhill portion heading to Lee it started to rain, but it only lasted 5 or 10 minutes, then stopped, and the rest of the day was great.  So much for packing that rain gear!

As I was heading downhill into Lee, some dude was walking right down the middle of the road coming toward me with his fist in the air.  I’m not sure what the guy was doing at 7 am, but I went to the other side of the road to avoid him.

Passing through Stockbridge the town was still quiet as the route took to some side roads on the way to Great Barrington.  The first checkpoint was at the GB Dunkin Donuts.  There were a few other riders there when I arrived.  I bought a donut and bagel, had the cashier sign my Brevet card, and I filled my water bottles in the restroom sink.  I rode off still eating my bagel as I headed south on route 7.  I had to pay attention to the route sheet as the ride turned onto route 7A, and a few other backroads before connecting back to route 7 where I saw a fox run accross the road.

A few riders caught me as I crossed into Connecticut.  The ride south on 7 is really nice.  A smooth road, with great scenery along the Housatonic river, that crosses the Appalachian trail in places.  I stopped quickly to take a photo of the West Cornwall covered Bridge, and then got going again as a group passed me.  I hung with them for a while, then pushed on ahead to Kent.  Kent is a great town that I have been to a few times.  A popular town during the fall folliage season.

The checkppoint in Kent had sandwiches, cookies, fruit, and tables to sit at.  As I was getting ready to go again, Coleman and Beth rode in.  I waited a little, but didn’t want to stop too long.  I made a phone call from a pay phone to let Melinda know I had made it to the second checkpoint, then kept going.

The route headed west into NY, then north again skirting the CT/NY border.  The town of Sharon, CT has some huge old mansions and also nice scenery, although some lady in a BMW decided she could pull next to me as I was stopping at a stop sign and turn right even though I was going straight.  I could tell she was clueless, so I just let her go.  I didn’t want to get run over.  That was the only problem I had with traffic all day.  The roads had very low traffic, and it seemed like miles would go by without seeing any cars.

Just after the town of Sharon, Beth and Coleman caught up to me, and I rode with them up to Bash Bish Falls.  There is a country store, and a bike shop just before the climb starts near the park entrance.  I stopped in the state park to use the restroom and fill my water bottles.

The climb up Bash Bish Falls is very steep, up to 15% in places.  Just when you think you may fall over, it levels out a little, and there are a few places where you can recover.  Beth and Coleman waited for me near the top, and the descent was very fast down the other side back into Great Barrington for the third checkpoint where there was a tent set up, with more sandwiches, fruit, cookies, etc.  I took off my shoes, as my feet were hurting from my spd road pedals.  I need to look into pedals with a larger platform for these long rides.

Beth and Coleman went on ahead, and I settled into a pace I could manage.  I was pretty wiped out after Bish Bash Falls, and was suffering.  I stopped to call Melinda again near Stockbridge to let her know I was surviving.   I slowly made my way back through Stockbridge, and was not looking forward to the climb back over Jacob’s Ladder.

I stopped at a store in Lee to buy some powerade to top off my water bottles, and I bought a coke for some quick energy.  That gave me the lift I needed to get over the climb.  The downhill was great, but the final 20 miles along the river into Westfield was very tough.  The road is very bumpy. and there was a headwind.  It seemed like I would never get there.  There was still a good distance to go after seeing the “Entering Westfield” sign.

I made it back to the bike shop and turned in my Brevet card.  Beth and Coleman were waiting in the parking lot.

The 300 k was more than I was ready for, but I made it.   I think the mental challenges are just as big as the physical on a ride that long.  This was a great route, and I’d do it again, but I think the 400k would be too much for me.

Hopefully next year I can do this again and get in better condition before this ride.  I had read alot about Brevets and thought it would be cool to get into this type of riding, but It is really a big commitment to put in the type of miles to get ready for these long distances.  I think for the rest of the season I will focus on shorter rides,  work on my speed, and try to get a good result in the club Time Trial.

Notes:

According the my HRM I burned 11,000 calories.
On bike time was 11:48 with a total time of 13:35 with stops.
Average speed was just over 16 MPH.
Next year I’d like to take my lighter weight bike and carry less stuff.
I used a Carradice Super C Saddlebag, and carried extra food, and rain gear.

Photos